"Going to the Reincarnation Hall is not a problem, but if I understand you correctly, the key to mending the temporal loopholes lies within the Reincarnation Hall?"
Although given the current turn of events, they would inevitably have to visit the Reincarnation Hall, according to Si Fengwu's plan, the trip was meant to happen after everything else was settled. Lu Qingwan bringing it up now must mean she had discovered something new.
Lu Qingwan didn't hide it from him. "Liu Han Yan is a fool, manipulated by Nangong Che and Meng Fuyuan. The reason these people could travel through time is entirely because Nangong Che used Liu Han Yan to obtain the personal notes of Empress Qing Huang from the restricted archives of the Reincarnation Hall."
Si Fengwu was stunned. "From past intelligence, Nangong Che doesn't seem like a capable person. Meng Fuyuan relied more on his precognitive abilities. Conversely, Liu Han Yan, despite her young age, had formidable cultivation. After entering the world, she flourished, making many friends without revealing her true identity. Those who accompanied her still praise her highly. How could she be manipulated to such an extent?"
His tone was almost incredulous. "Even so, Lu Qingwan, don't you find her behavior to be exaggerated?"
"I also find something strange about this. I always feel like Liu Han Yan became a different person after meeting Nangong Che. While love can make people blind, it shouldn't make them this blind, should it?" She tapped her head against Si Fengwu's chest as if it were a wooden fish. "You've seen the situation at the Reincarnation Hall. Even the lowest-ranking soldier takes pride in it. That kind of collective honor isn't easily earned. So, while people are different, Liu Han Yan is, after all, the Saintess of the Reincarnation Hall. She grew up there. Would she bring an outsider like Nangong Che into the restricted archives due to personal feelings?"
Stepping away from her daughter's identity, Lu Qingwan realized that many peculiar aspects of the situation revealed themselves without her having to actively search.
Si Fengwu pondered for a moment, then tilted his head and said pointedly, "If it were the clear-headed and rational Saintess of the Reincarnation Hall before meeting Nangong Che, she certainly wouldn't do anything detrimental to the Reincarnation Hall. But as the lovesick person she is now, if Nangong Che asked for something, she would likely lead him into the archives without even considering what it meant to the Reincarnation Hall."
Lu Qingwan chuckled. Although Si Fengwu's words were a bit insulting to Liu Han Yan, she had to admit they were quite accurate.
"Have someone investigate thoroughly. See what happened between them before and after meeting Nangong Che. If that doesn't work, find a few people who interacted with them during that period, and I can interrogate them myself."
Si Fengwu immediately adopted a serious expression. "What? Does mending the temporal loopholes require Liu Han Yan and Nangong Che's involvement?"
Lu Qingwan hummed lazily, "No, I can handle the temporal loopholes myself. Why do you suddenly ask?"
Si Fengwu breathed a sigh of relief. "Since they don't need to be involved, why are you investigating what happened between them?"
"Who doesn't have a curious mind? I just want to know what kind of bizarre experience could cause such a drastic change in someone!"
The small boat swayed gently, and with a gust of wind, the people on board drifted with it. Lu Qingwan clung to Si Fengwu like an octopus, her voice carried away by the wind. "Regardless of what happened, Old Man Liu treated me well. I turned Liu Han Yan into this state, and I owe him an explanation. Investigating thoroughly, even if the outcome doesn't change, will at least bring him some peace of mind."
Si Fengwu sighed deeply. "Since you can't bear to leave the Hall Master of the Reincarnation Hall, why did you return the Blood Crow Token and the position of Saintess? We both know that as long as you didn't want to, the Hall Master of the Reincarnation Hall would never have taken them back."
Liu Xunran was a gentleman. Otherwise, with the years of internal conflict between the Sansheng Tower and the Hanxiao Hall, the Reincarnation Hall's strength would have long ago allowed them to annex both. A withered camel is still larger than a horse; incorporating the Sansheng Tower and the Hanxiao Hall would have multiplied the Reincarnation Hall's strength. Yet, Liu Xunran never touched them. While he claimed it was out of respect for the ancestral ties between the Sansheng Tower, Hanxiao Hall, and the Reincarnation Hall, everyone knew that sentiment is only as strong as one makes it. Ultimately, the reason the Sansheng Tower and Hanxiao Hall survived to this day was entirely due to Liu Xunran's integrity. It was precisely for this reason that they all understood that although Lu Qingwan initially obtained the position of Saintess because of Liu Han Yan, the one at fault throughout the process was Liu Han Yan, not Lu Qingwan. Therefore, even if everyone believed Lu Qingwan was Liu Han Yan's daughter and should forgive her actions out of maternal affection, Liu Xunran would not have taken back the Blood Crow Token and the position of Saintess from Lu Qingwan. Yet, Lu Qingwan herself proposed to return them. Even with their unspoken understanding, Si Fengwu couldn't figure out what she was plotting.
Lu Qingwan gazed at the distant lights and smiled slightly. "Si Fengwu, have you ever considered what would happen to the world today if I hadn't crossed over? Or, if the person who crossed over wasn't a well-trained, highly qualified special agent, but just an ordinary person with mediocre abilities?"
Si Fengwu shook his head without hesitation. "No. Only those whose lives are unsatisfactory engage in such hypothetical scenarios. Your arrival here, your marriage to me—this is the best reality. Those other assumptions simply don't exist."
His tone was so assertive that Lu Qingwan couldn't help but understand what he was upset about. "That was just a hypothetical. I'm already in your arms, what are you afraid of?" Turning, she pinched Si Fengwu's face fiercely and said, "What I mean to say is, it just so happens that both of us have good backgrounds, and based on that, we have acquired decent abilities. Although there were some detours along the way, we have managed to eliminate these schemes. But think about it, if it weren't for us, or if there weren't many capable and responsible leaders among those in power today, facing schemers like Meng Fuyuan and Nangong Che, wouldn't the world have been engulfed in war by now?"
Si Fengwu had initially thought Lu Qingwan was merely speaking from the heart, but upon hearing this, he realized the term "speaking without a target" never applied to Lu Qingwan. He said belatedly, "Nangong Che is ambitious but untalented. Meng Fuyuan is too selfish. If not for the strong foundation of the Sansheng Tower and Hanxiao Hall, with their own abilities alone, they wouldn't have been able to withstand such a storm. So, are you worried that the Reincarnation Hall, passed down from your hands, might one day become fertile ground for conspiracies?" He then seemed to realize something was amiss. "But even if you're not the Saintess, someone else will inherit the Reincarnation Hall. At least now, the Reincarnation Hall won't disappear like the Sansheng Tower and Hanxiao Hall, will it?"